Grassroots Power
Who’s the Best Lobbyist for Your Cause? You.
This summer, NLBMDA focused on building congressional support for the Innocent Sellers Fairness Act (H.R. 989). Now that Congress has returned from its summer break, your personal involvement is critical to continue making a strong case for our industry’s priorities. Successful grassroots and “grasstops” initiatives often are the deciding factor for legislators on whether to co-sponsor or support legislation.
The origin of the words grassroots and grasstops illustrates why such efforts are important. In the U.S., the term “grassroots and boots” is believed to have been minted by Sen. Albert Jeremiah Beveridge of Indiana. He used the term in 1912 in noting that the Progressive Party “has come from the grass roots. It has grown from the soil of people’s hard necessities. In the years since, the word grassroots has been associated with organizing groups of ordinary individuals and mobilizing them to carry a message to their legislators.
Similarly, grasstops efforts recruit prominent local citizens and organizations to lobby on behalf of a national organization or interest group. By harnessing the energy of dedicated activists, an organization can transmit its message or mission to hundreds or thousands of people.
For NLBMDA, the message is simple: protect our small businesses by co-sponsoring the Innocent Sellers Fairness Act. The more dealers we can recruit to make this plea to their legislators, the bigger impact our industry can make in Washington.
Grassroots strategies and activities vary but always begin with this premise: know the audience. Find out what you can about your representatives and senators. Learn about their backgrounds, including their careers before coming to Congress, what issues interest them, and what they are working on for their constituents. You can access this information on NLBMDA’s grassroots Web site, www.buildthevote.org.
Once you learn about your lawmakers, invite them to tour your yard or business. Make an appointment to meet with them when they are back home. Let them see firsthand what is happening outside of Washington, and how the services and products you provide strengthen the local economy and enhance the quality of life for community residents. Go to www.buildthevote.org for useful tools and additional resources to help you make the case for Innocent Sellers in Congress.
NLBMDA’s Washington lobbyists reach out to legislators all the time. But the message often hits closer to home when they hear directly from you about what matters to you and how your business is affected by their decisions. You are the most effective advocate for our industry, and NLBMDA appreciates your help in advancing liability relief for innocent sellers.
–Sarah Owen is director of government affairs and grassroots advocacy for NLBMDA.
